Rio orders 10 more EMUs from China

The Rio de Janeiro state government has confirmed an order for 10 more trains from CNR Changchun.

Officials in the Brazilian capital have exercised an option for additional vehicles from an order for 60 new electrical-multiple units (EMUs) placed with the Chinese manufacturer in 2012.

The government have also said the first of the new trains, which are being built in Changchun, will be delivered five months early, with 14 vehicles expected to arrive in the city by September 2014.

A letter of intent was signed in November at CNR’s plant in Changchun during a site visit, in which the Brazilian delegation also saw work underway on 15 new metro trains CNR is manufacturing for Line 4 of Rio’s subway system.

During the visit, it was announced that the first eight of the new fleet of 60 trains would leave China in February 2014 and arrive in Rio in April.

Billions of dollars is being invested in rail infrastructure and rolling stock across Rio de Janeiro ahead of the World Cup and Olympic Games.

The state is funding a $2.2 billion programme of works, including upgrades to stations, replacement of lines and sleepers and overhaul of rail vehicles. Operator SuperVia also signed a contract in December last year worth €105 million for 80 new Metropolis cars, which are being built at Alstom’s factory in the São Paulo district of Lapa.

[…] are both investing heavily in renewing the network’s train fleet. By September 2014, the first of 60 electrical-multiple units (EMUs) funded by the state government will have arrived in Rio from Chinese rolling stock […]